Program Reviews

As a palestinian who grew up in Germany I visited my family in the west bank many times, but my time in the center was a totaly new experience. I got to see the more troubling and politicized sides of the country, which left me with a realistic and in depth understanding of what it means to live under occupation. The impressions I got here definetely heavily impacted my political and moral thinking and shaped me for everything thats still to come in my life.
The arabic lessons with my teacher saja were always very fun, but also productive and professional. In general all of the teaching staff is amazing and always enables and helps you to move forward in your arabic journey.
But the best thing about my stay were the people. I stayed 3 and a half months and I met dozens of amazing and interesting people that made the time in Khalil unforgettable. I made good friends from all over the globe.
I would encourage everybody thats interested in the Arabic language but also in the troubling circumstances of the Palestinian people to visit the center in Khalil and broaden your horizon.

Anyone "thinking" about joining the Excellence Center Europe family should "Just Do It" (in the words of Nike!)

My experience at The Excellence Center has been absolutely amazing! It started a little rough with a lack of communication. So much so, I was concerned about the legitimacy of the program! However, from the day I boarded the plane until the day I departed, I wondered "Why was I so nervous/scared/filled with anxiety?" From that day forward, communication was explicit! Dušan contacted me while I was still in the states; he met me at the train station...he immediately took me out to eat with group; he took me to my host family home, the host family was incredible! (By the way, whenever Martin and Robert visit the states, I got you!) Everything good I thought would happen was 10 times better!

Learning and teaching: Arabic was the language I chose to study while teaching English. *The decision to learn Arabic in a German speaking city was definitely a learning curve independent of all other learning taking place.* My Arabic teachers, Moaz and Ali, are AMAZING! Moaz seems more comfortable exploring and teaching history and he's VERY GOOD at it! He shares his experiences with descriptive visuals to describe the narrative in detail, giving the audience the illusion as if we're experiencing events in real time.... Ali is a really good teacher! He's passionate about teaching, patient, kind and overall a very nice guy! I didn't know ANY Arabic! However, I left with a strong foundation in reading and writing Arabic, (before now, I thought was impossible) in which I can continue building. Besides, anyone who can effectively teach Arabic to an American English speaker with a deep southern accent and not loose their cool has so much respect from me! These young men provided lessons beyond the pencil, paper and walls of the classroom. I pray God continually bless them beyond measure!

I am so blessed to have cross paths with this community of people! I came as a teacher, ready to provide service; having no idea of the transformation taking place in my own life. Today, I'm leaving having gain so much more than EVER anticipated; not only as a student of arabic, yet a student of history, humanity, perseverance, and resilience.

If you are looking for an opportunity to get out of your comfort zone, The Excellence Center Europe is the perfect solution.

Thank you EC Europe for life's lessons that undoubtably provides perspective for what's truly important. I pray we meet again, soon!
❤️🤍💙~Marcia

The ten weeks I spent at the Excellence Center in Europe this summer was really one of the best experiences of my life. I truly have never had a better summer. I took part in the Volunteer in Media & Journalism Program because I am a current student of journalism and German, and there isn't a better program out there that offers both valuable experience in media and language lessons as part of the same contract.
As someone who has always been kind of slow to open up to strangers, I was worried about coming here and feeling lonely or not making friends, but the emphasis the Center puts on building community and making everyone feel welcome and comfortable quickly made those worries go away. I have met people here that I am sure I will be friends with for the rest of my life, and I have gotten to know so many people from around the world that I never would've gotten the chance to meet otherwise.
The work I did here in media and journalism was fulfilling for me, both professionally and personally, and the freedom I was given to do the kind of writing and work I wanted to do was wonderful and empowering. I feel like I was able to grow so much here as a writer, worker, and friend.
Even if you have never left your home country before or think you might not be able to fit in here easily, I wholeheartedly encourage you to take the leap and come to the Excellence Center. It will unquestionably be one of the most memorable experiences of your life, and I promise you won't regret it.
I plan to return to visit the little family we have here as soon as possible, and I will miss the Center and the staff immensely.

The Excellence Center provides a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere where volunteers can easily find students to teach and a supportive staff. Rafat does a great job of providing volunteers with many ways to be involved with the community. He also organizes so many fun opportunities to build morale and give everyone time to get to know one another. It’s easy to feel supported and at home, especially for those who haven’t traveled abroad often or at all. I would highly recommend this program for anyone who is open minded, likes or wants to travel, and enjoys helping others. The German and Arabic language lessons they provide are intensive and taught by very knowledgeable, native speakers.

History is always written by victors. Instead of being documented impartially, it is usually being reported under the influence of some sort of ideology. Therefore, as a history and political science major student, it is imperative for me to view things as impartially and discreetly as possible.

In an era filled with information, with such vast information that it is arduous for us to distinguish accurate information from fake information, it is paramount for me to see eye to eye what really happened. With this in mind, I decided to fly to Palestine, to see what really happened, to see whether the news media, regardless of their political stance, is impartial or not, and most importantly, to document what happened so that I would be able to showcase the genuine situation of what Palestinians are facing day by day.

Before I came to Palestine, I thought the situation would be quite perilous. With the fact that I am a tourist, I feared I might be robbed by some random people on the street (As my skin color explicitly distinguishes me from local inhabitants). I even fear that my skin color might make me a target of some sort of extreme racial group, as I do not look Arabic at all, and there aren’t that many Asians traveling to Palestine.

Nevertheless, my experiences in Palestine and the excellence center have proven me utterly wrong. Contrary to my expectations, people here are so lovely that I have been greeted with a smiling face daily by people I do not know. They are so benevolent that they even treated me falafel balls when I said hi to them. In the center, my Arabic teacher, Miss Haya, taught me with patience and kindness even when my Arabic was pretty atrocious (Arabic is very sophisticated). Even though my Arabic pronunciations might not be comprehensible and even embarrassing, she taught me how to pronounce the vocabulary one by one with love and care. As a language teacher, Miss Haya's passion and devotion to her students are why I continue to learn Arabic after trepidations and obstacles. Overall, We are like a family in the center, where we congregate for breakfast, live together, go on field trips together, and spend our time in Palestine together. Even though some of the experiences might be daunting (as it is normal for a human being to be despondent after witnessing and hearing some of the most melancholiac and disturbing stories from people suffering from the atrocities being inflicted by some settlers), I have learnt more about appreciation and also treating people around us with affection and respect as we would never hope something like this would ever occurring upon anyone of us, including our worst enemies.

Everything happens for a reason and thank you for being one of the reasons that motivate me to continue on my goal. Everything wouldn’t have been so great without this center, Alhamdulilah.

I was very happy with the people I met as well as the instruction I received. My teacher was very energetic and helpful with the teaching. Arabic is a hard language but he made it engaging and interesting. I really enjoyed the program breakfast that we had on the week days. It was a good time to get to speak with people more personally. The weekly football matches were a great opportunity to get out of the school atmosphere and have fun. The public transportation was amazing and very easy to use.

This experience was super fun and I don't regret a single moment of it. I have met so many amazing people who will be my friends for many years to come. Without this program, none of that would have happened; but it did, and I'm grateful. It's super fun teaching English and its super fun learning German in the country where the language was created. The staff here is super nice and welcoming, and there was never a moment where I felt unwelcome or out of place while at the center. It really is like one big family in many ways. 10/10 would totally go again.

These past two months have been nothing short of transformative. I started nearly every morning with a home-cooked Palestinian breakfast and sat with my fellow volunteers, where we talked about everything from our lives back home to our plans for the week. After breakfast, clean-up was a group effort, and playful banter filled the kitchen as the cleaning was done. The community created over the breaking of bread shares an unbreakable bond that I know each of us is the better for. A huge part of our experience is shaped by the work that we do, but equally important are the friendships and bonds we create with each other as we return to our daily lives and attempt to integrate the lessons we learned back home. I had the privilege of attending community events, tutoring people of all ages and backgrounds, and immersing students in life at the Center, along with getting an unparalleled German language education with Muaz, an incredible teacher. The entire team is incredibly dedicated and kind, truly willing to go the extra mile. This experience has undoubtedly made me a better, more open-minded person ready to tackle whatever comes next.

Throughout my six weeks at the Excellence Center, I met some of my best friends, made life-long connections and learned valuable information about myself and other cultures. Being at the Excellence Center was like being in a family and it has hands down been one of the best experiences. The staff at EC do a phenomenal job at creating a healthy environment that allows you to meet an abundance of new people, whether you stay for a week or a month. We partake in team breakfast, group dinners, and football matches (which are hands down the highlight of the week, even if you’ve never played before) which allow you to get to know your peers beyond the workspace. I can confidently say that when you join this program, you are bound to meet a group of likeminded people who are interested in you and your life story.
Although I met many new people here, I also did do a lot of learning! Throughout my time, I studied Arabic without any prior knowledge or experience. Ali was a phenomenal teacher and did a great job at making lessons interactive and specific to your learning level. Along with this, the staff does a great job at incorporating your new learned language into your everyday interactions. Although I did not study as long as others, I am for sure taking home an abundance of knowledge that I can work with when I get back home.

Having spent around 5 weeks on this program, I'm confident in saying that it far exceeded my expectations in every way. Finding this as a means to complete a requirement for my university (Sciences Po Paris), I wasn't really sure what to expect besides a small language learning school and a quaint German town. I was prepared to spend most of my free time just talking with friends back home and most of my time in the center doing intensive work. Instead, what I found was an incredibly welcoming team, a fantastic social scene with people of all ages, and a thriving little city with infinitely more life than I assumed it would have.

The team, Ali, Muaz, Dušan, and of course Rafat, are all great people with whom I could talk for hours (and frankly I wish I had talked with more). If you're volunteering, the work you do is important, but you can regulate the intensiveness to whatever level you're comfortable with and the people you work with are all extremely nice. The other people I've met here, both on the program and in the local international student scene, are incredibly interesting and diverse - and I've made some lasting friendships among them. The town of Halle is great, with plenty of events and activities if you seek them out while not having the stress of a city like Berlin. I'd also like to shout out its prime location, with tons of destinations to visit on weekends only a couple hours away by the local train system.

All in all, my only complaint is that I can't stay longer. The community here is unparalleled and I hope to return to Halle in the future. Finally, I should mention that the value of the program, with housing included and constant events planned with members from the center, is well worth the price. If you're looking at this program and are on the fence, I'd say go for it. I certainly regretted nothing.